The day after the Great Asian Alliance invaded New Soviet territory, a series of fierce back-and-forth battles unfolded along the Far East coast. The entire world was closely watching this conflict pan out. But being adjacent to the battlefield, Japan was especially both interested and vigilant in its observations of the ever-evolving situation.
The rules established during World War III prohibiting nuclear weapons were still very much in effect. The International Magic Association intervened only when so-called “dirty nuclear weapons” were involved. Biological and chemical arms that contaminated the environment and high-yield bombs with harmful or toxic emissions were subject to self-regulation. This meant that modern warfare primarily relied on traditional bullets, shrapnel grenades, and expensive environmentally friendly high-yield explosives. The militaries of wealthier countries also included electromagnetic weapons and laser guns in their arsenals.
In other words, the dominance of older types of weapons tended to prolong conflicts when well-equipped and trained armies fought each other. To ensure a quick victory, it was essential for an army to have weaponry that their opponent did not possess.
The Great Asian Alliance’s chances of victory hinged on the strategic-class magic Pilita. They mainly initiated the Far East conflict with the impression that the New Soviet Union would be unable to deploy their own strategic-class magician. Military experts worldwide predicted as much.
However, the conflict did not end in a day. The Great Asian Alliance deployed strategic-class magician Lirei Liu from the outset, and her presence shifted the battle in their favor. But Pilita was not the kind of magic that could cover an entire battlefield. Even if there were such a spell, it would be challenging to use effectively in close combat where allies could potentially get in the range of fire. Clearly, strategic-class magicians were not as useful as many people might believe.
✦ ✦ ✦
Another Saturday rolled around. In Japan, only a few middle and high schools with a focus on the arts followed a two-day weekend.
The Magic High School, of course, had class. Like many days, Tatsuya took Miyuki to school this morning. Though Minami was hospitalized, there were currently no plans for anyone in the Yotsuba family to replace her. Tatsuya was no longer a Guardian, but he served as Miyuki’s bodyguard on the way to school.
Once they were on campus, however, Tatsuya didn’t feel the need to stay nearby. After all, he didn’t need to be physically close to protect her. During Bezobrazov’s recent attack, he stayed on campus only so he could counter effectively. Even his daily morning escort was more of a personal choice than a necessity.
Once Miyuki was inside the school building, Tatsuya quickly returned home to change from his uniform into casual clothes and headed straight to Miyaki Island in the Aircar. This time, the primary purpose for his visit was magic research, but he also felt anxious about leaving Lina alone for too long.
As he thought, Lina was already starting to get bored. Although neither had business with each other, Lina barged in on Tatsuya during his research.
“…What are you up to, Tatsuya?” she asked.
“Making magic,” he responded curtly.
“With just a computer?!” she exclaimed.
“I don’t know why you’re so surprised,” he said. “The engineer who created your Prionace could probably do something similar.”
Prionace was a magical weapon that used the FAE theory to make the strategic-class magic Heavy Metal Burst castable in localized and personal combat.
The FAE, or Free After Execution, theory referred to the concept that events resulting from magic modifications were extraordinary phenomena that shouldn’t exist in this world. Applying this theory loosened the constraints of physical laws for a very brief period immediately after the modification to make subsequent modifications easier.
Tatsuya’s Baryon Lance also used this theory, but it was based only on the Prionace template. This was why Tatsuya secretly admired the Prionace developer and hoped to meet them one day.
“Now that you mention it, Abby did seem to be modifying magic right from her desk,” Lina mused.
So the Prionace developer’s name is Abby, Tatsuya thought.
He mentally took note of the name.
“But when creating new magic, she had to conduct countless experiments along the way,” Lina continued.
So, she is still developing new spells, Tatsuya thought again.
He took another mental note.
Then, masking his interest in Abby, he said, “I’m not making this magic from scratch. I recently had a chance to observe Tuman Bomba up close, and it got me thinking. The original Tuman Bomba is much too complex for just anyone to use, but maybe I can adapt it into another more accessible spell.”
When referring to Tuman Bomba’s complexity, he meant that it required a large-scale device that wasn’t easy to use. But Lina thought he was simply saying a magician needed an immense amount of magic power to cast the spell. Of course, that wasn’t entirely wrong.
After a brief lag, Lina’s eyes widened with surprise.
“…Wait, are you saying you’re trying to create strategic-class magic?” she exclaimed in a way that was a bit over the top.
“That is its classification, yes,” Tatsuya replied calmly, as if used to Lina’s outbursts.
“I can’t believe you.” Lina sighed, with a dramatic shake of her head. “You already have a ridiculously powerful spell like Material Burst, and you still want to add more strategic-class magic to your repertoire? It’s like you’re trying to become a demon lord.”
“I had no idea you were a gamer,” Tatsuya said.
“Y-you don’t need to be a gamer to know about demon lords!” she retorted, turning bright red.
Lina’s spirited reply lifted Tatsuya’s spirits a bit. He had grown tired of so many people actually treating him like a demon lord.
“Anyway,” Tatsuya said, “I’m not planning to use this magic myself.”
“What? Really?”
“Yes, because ultimately you’re right. Having one strategic-class spell is more than enough. Besides, it’s not useful in everyday situations, and just possessing it comes with a mountain of complications.”
“I know what you mean.” Lina nodded emphatically, ignoring Tatsuya’s context.
“When I’m done, I’ll give it to another magician,” Tatsuya said, concealing a wry smile. “I have someone in mind who could handle it. If they rise up as a new Apostle, it might alleviate some of the annoying complications around me.”
“That makes sense,” Lina replied, completely focused on the complications bit.
She didn’t realize this meant a new strategic-class magician for Japan, which could drastically shift the global military balance.
✦ ✦ ✦
Tatsuya stayed on Miyaki Island only until noon. When he left, the new magic was still a work in progress. He wasn’t so conceited as to believe he could create a new spell in just one or two days. Besides, he had more pressing magic to work on.
“Thanks for doing this with me again today, Mikihiko,” Tatsuya said.
“It’s a good workout for me, too,” Mikihiko replied.
After school was dismissed, Tatsuya met with Mikihiko in the training forest to perfect Sealing Sphere, as Yakumo had suggested. This spell would use psions to compress, trap, and contain parasites expelled from the human body.
The sphere would need to be either physically stored in some kind of artifact or mentally dismantled and incinerated. Either way, once it was contained, Tatsuya’s work was done, and he could hand it over to another specialist.
The training was straightforward in theory: Mikihiko would summon a spirit and deliberately use his power to freeze it. Tatsuya would then use typeless magic to restrain the spirit, compressing psions and all to convert it into a stable frozen state.
This meant not only that Tatsuya encased the information body in a psion shell, but also that he mixed in his own psions to coagulate the body as a whole. It was like solidifying radioactive waste by mixing it with glass. They would need to prepare a separate container for storing the solidified material (aka the sealing object), and the final blow would need additional processing. But for the time being, the sphere could prevent the parasite from fleeing or infecting another person.
“That was pretty good,” Mikihiko observed.
Though they had only just started on Thursday and were still far from perfection, Tatsuya was definitely beginning to grasp the nuances of the technique.
“You think so?” Tatsuya asked.
Mikihiko’s praise didn’t really seem to boost his confidence. But this was largely because of his high expectations of the finished product. Compared to his most recent battle with Yakumo, he had definitely made progress.
“Absolutely.” Mikihiko nodded. “You should be proud of how far you’ve come.”
“…Yeah, I guess being skeptical won’t help,” Tatsuya said reluctantly. “Let’s go through it again.”
“As many times as you need,” Mikihiko willingly agreed.
Grateful for his friend’s support, Tatsuya focused on refining the psions within him to unleash Sealing Sphere.